More Articles business

comment

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Chainsaws, drills, blow torches and upwards of 300-pound blocks of ice are tools of the trade for ice sculpture wizard Jimmy Chiappa.

On any given day you can find the Lyndhurst native, owner of
Jimmy's Artistic Creations
in East Rutherford, carving up elegant swans, palm trees, Buddhas, Easter bunnies and more.

And with Mother's Day around the corner, orders are being taken now.

Chiappa, a former chef at The Four Seasons in New York City, started his businesses in 1995, providing elegant ice sculptures for weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs and other special events. This, after apprenticing to be an ice sculptor in Atlantic City and eventually starting his own business.

According to his website, the average ice sculpture is 36″ high, 20″ wide and 10″ deep set upon a 4″ base. It weighs between 200 to 225 pounds and lasts about five to seven hours.

What used to take him hours on end can now take about 15 minutes to carve, shape and mold. Hence, the heavy tools.